Identification of unknown substances or components within a drug mixture can done using reagents, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and advanced lab tests.

Reagents, or “reactive agents”, are a fast and convenient method for determining the presence or absence of a substance in a sample. During a test, reagent is dripped onto a very small amount of the substance. The structure of the unknown sample is then altered through unique mechanisms, resulting in the appearance of colors that correspond to a specific molecular structure.

Reagents should be seen as a method to “rule in or rule out” that your sample either does or does not contain the expected substance, along with the possibility of noticing an adulteration.

Do not assume just because you got a positive reagent reaction your substance may not be adulterated. There are some limitations with reagents you should be aware of before testing, feel free to send us an email if have any further questions.

Our reagents are not suited towards testing for Benzodiazpines, nor for fentanyl in heroin samples.

If you have a sample that contains multiple substances inside, then the reaction could look like mixed paint or the darker reaction could end up overshadowing the lighter one. To try to mitigate this you can use multiple reagents as they all react differently and will tell you more.

Another issue is that as the amount of powder you use to test your substance is such a minuscule amount that what you test does not represent the sample as a whole, but rather a small part. We recommend doing several tests on the same substance with the same reagent to ensure you keep getting the same results.

More advanced home testing can be done via Thin Layer Chromatography which is an great method for detecting adulterations, as it separates the individual components in a sample before reagent testing them. During separation, a liquid agent pulls the mixture across a thin layer of absorbent material. Each of the components separate & then following separation, newly isolated components can be tested further with reagents and identified individually.

Often called the “Golden Standard” of substance testing, Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) is an advanced lab-test which separates components of an unknown mixture, which are then broken down into smaller ions and sorted using electric and magnetic fields. The resulting ions indicate the identity of the unknown substance. A variety of other advanced analytic methods can be utilized in laboratories for substance identification, varying from other types of mass spectroscopy machines to FTIR which uses light energy to obtain absorption and emission data from an substance.

Energy Control and EcstasyData are two organizations where you can send in a sample and have it lab-tested, this will cost 70€ at Energy Control for all samples & 40$ for XTC pills & 100$ for powders/blotters etc at EcstasyData.

We highly recommend these two services, it’s the safest alternative when attempting to identify any substance.

Our 6-in-1 Complete Test Kit includes a selection of reagents with over 300 logged substances. Ensure your sample is what you thought it was. Rule out other substances and identify adulterants with this complete test. Be on the safe side! It’s worth it.